Council Approves 'Complete Streets'

The New Orleans City Council this month voted unanimously in favor of a so-called "Complete Streets" ordinance, which creates within the city code new policies requiring all roadways to be compatible for all users — not just cars and buses. That means all future road work and resurfacing projects must include bike lanes, curb ramps and safe passage for people at bus stops and on sidewalks. New Orleans joins a growing list of more than 300 U.S. cities that have adopted the policy, and it's the first municipal policy of its kind in Louisiana.

At November's council transportation committee meeting, the Sustainable Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC), which helped draft the ordinance with District C Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, urged the council to approve the policy, which the state adopted last year for all state-backed and federally funded projects.

University of New Orleans transportation institute director John Renne hailed the ordinance as a positive step in the city's "sustainable future," which includes alternative transportation and healthy, livable communities. — Alex Woodward